2. After making application, if you meet
the minimum requirements on a scan of your application, you will be
invited to take a written exam and a physical fitness test.

There will also be a polygraph test, a drug screening and a
background check. You will want
to prepare friends, family and neighbors to be interviewed.
The length of time that
investigators go back in your records will depend on the department and
the level of service.

A federal job will also require a security clearance which will
require research from five to ten years back in your files.

3.
If you get a high enough score on the exams, you will be invited to
take an oral interview. The
number of members making up the panel and their exact make-up will
depend on the guidelines and rules of the specific police department.

Expect supervisory officers and someone representing the human
services department to be involved in the hiring process.

4.
You’re hired! Some civil
service procedures will define the number of candidates that can be
brought forward to the department chief for hire.

The top three candidates are often forwarded to the hiring
authority, which is generally the police chief or sheriff in a local law
enforcement agency.

The specifics of how to
apply to become a police officer in any one agency will depend upon
the specific civil service rules and policies of each law enforcement
agency.